April 2nd: Hotel Chocolat You Crack Me Up Extra Thick Egg

As has now come tradition, Hotel Chocolat this year sent me one of their big 'Extra Thick' Easter eggs for me to get my lips around. Last year I had the absolutely delightful beast that was the Hotel Chocolat Extra Thick Purist Egg (See HERE), that one managed to get itself a huge 9.2 out of 10 and of course a big JCM recommendation. This year I decided to go for something a little less serious, and requested their 'You Crack Me Up' Extra Thick Egg. On the site this came billed as 'An irrepressibly upbeat egg cast in 40% milk chocolate and bursting with our cheeriest chocolates' - I couldn't resist the smiley faced chocolates that came with it :D they looked hilarious.

I will of course be 'pinning' all of these photos on the JCM Pinterest page (See HERE), so if you have any comments for the 'old man' I'm sure he would appreciate them. Now I'm not belittling his mastery photography here, but it would have taken a monumental effort to make this egg look unappetising on the eye. Quite simply the presentation was just first class with everything from the ribbon decorated outer box, to the foil wrapped egg and 'cheery' inner chocolate pieces looking every bit as fancy as you would come to expect from Hotel Chocolat. Profit margins must be forever being stretched at smaller companies like Hotel Chocolat, but there were no savings here I assure you.

Enough about the packaging - what was the chocolate like!?? Well come on now - do you really need me to tell you how lovely the 40.0% milk chocolate was again!? The egg was just as billed and had varying levels of thickness ranging from the 'Extra thick' outer portion, to the thinner middle egg section. The taste was what you would expect - rich cocoa mixed with a touch of sugar sweetness, and with the thickest, creamiest, smooth flowing double cream like flavour experience - just magnifico!

The tweleve count strong truffle line up was also fantastic with options ranging from the terrifically hazelnut noted smiley faced pralines, to the plainer option solid milk chocolate bunny shapes. There could of perhaps been a little more variety added to the mix with say a potential caramel offering, though the white chocolate 'soldiers' did at least bring a little colour to the party.

Overall my general preference for dark chocolate over milk lends me to score this a little under last years Purist Extra Thick Egg, but I think the 8.8 out of 10 rating tells it's own story. This was simply another superb chocolate offering from Hotel Chocolat and it delivered in line of all expectations. As noted in all my spiel above, the presentation was top grade and the chocolate was of it's usual impeccable standard. The egg was as promised 'Extra Thick' and the selection of truffles, albeit for those with plainer tastes, was still a delightful little mixture of fun looking chocolates. I'll leave you with the comment of 'stylish and tasty' - I doubt you need anymore convincing.